Unfried spring rolls packed with vegetables, pork, and shrimp, wrapped in a soft crepe and finished with a sweet garlic sauce and crushed peanuts — the lighter cousin of lumpia shanghai.
"Sariwa" means fresh in Tagalog, and that's exactly what sets these apart from the more familiar fried lumpia shanghai — no frying at all. Instead, a savory pork-and-vegetable filling gets wrapped in a soft, slightly chewy crepe and draped with a glossy, sweet garlic sauce. It's messier to eat than fried lumpia, but that sauce makes it worth it.
Fresh lumpia wrappers are thin, crepe-like, and pliable — a completely different product from the dried spring roll wrappers used for frying. They're sold refrigerated at Filipino and Asian grocery stores; a thin homemade crepe made from flour, egg, and water works as a substitute if you can't find them.
Lumpiang sariwa is unfried and wrapped in a soft crepe with a sweet garlic sauce, while lumpia shanghai is a smaller, deep-fried roll with a crispy shell — they're really two different dishes despite the shared name.
Filipino and other Asian grocery stores typically stock them refrigerated, often labeled "lumpia wrapper" or "fresh spring roll wrapper," distinct from the dried egg roll wrappers used for frying.
The filling and sauce can be made a day ahead and refrigerated separately, but it's best to assemble and wrap the rolls just before serving to keep the wrapper from getting soggy.
